Media’s role in times of natural disasters
Of all the sad news following the earthquake and tsunami that hit parts of Japan on March 11, 2011, there was one particular thing that was admired by people around the world: The attitude of almost all Japanese in the face of such a calamity. They were relatively very calm and did not panic as they had been trained to engage in such an emergency situation. And they were willing to queue for food.
We witnessed a different situation in Aceh during the earthquake and tsunami in December 2004: People panicked.
Some media outlets reported the occurrence of looting in some parts of Aceh.
Another story that was heard in Aceh at the time was about the sea water that suddenly receded just before the tsunami came.
When that happened, the beaches became much larger and a number of people ran toward the uncovered sea floor.
They did not realize that it was the beginning of the calamity, as shortly afterwards the sea came back to the beach; this time with unimaginable power and speed.
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